Elara's POV
"We're being followed."
Kieran's words freeze everyone mid-step. His soldiers immediately fan out, weapons drawn, scanning the dark forest.
I reach for the bond instinctively, checking on Cassian. He's tense but not panicking. Ready to fight.
"How many?" Cassian asks quietly.
Kieran tilts his head, listening. "Three. No, four. Moving fast from the east."
"Sanctum?"
"Too quiet for Sanctum soldiers. They crash through the forest like drunk elephants." Kieran signals his team. "These are hunters. Professionals."
My heart pounds. "For the bounty?"
"Probably." Kieran starts moving again, faster now. "We need to reach the safe house before they close in. Move!"
We run. The forest blurs around us. I stumble over roots I can't see in the darkness, but Cassian's hand catches my elbow each time, steadying me.
Through the bond, I feel his fear. Not for himself. For me.
"There!" One of Kieran's soldiers points ahead.
A small cabin materializes between the trees. It's tiny, barely bigger than the cave we left, but it has walls and a door and right now that's everything.
Kieran reaches it first. He presses his palm against the door, and I feel magic pulse outward. Protective wards. Strong ones.
The door opens.
"Inside! Now!" Kieran shoves us through. His soldiers follow, and he slams the door shut behind us.
The moment it closes, the cabin lights up with glowing symbols. They run across every wall, every window, every surface. Protection magic.
"That'll hold them?" I gasp, still catching my breath.
"For a while." Kieran moves to a window and peers out. "Long enough to plan our next move."
I look around. The cabin is bare—one room with a table, a few chairs, and a fireplace. No decorations. No personal items. Just a place to hide.
Cassian touches my shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just..." I'm shaking. Again. I seem to do that a lot now. "How long can we keep running?"
He doesn't answer. Because we both know the truth. We can't run forever.
Kieran's soldiers spread out, checking windows, setting up watches. They move like a team that's done this a hundred times.
Kieran himself finally turns to face us fully. In the light, I see him clearly for the first time.
He looks young—maybe late twenties. But his eyes are ancient. Tired. Like he's seen too much for one lifetime.
"You must be Elara," he says, studying me. "The fifth bond."
"That's what everyone keeps calling me." I'm tired of being a number. "But yes. I'm Elara."
"Kieran." He extends his hand. When I shake it, his grip is firm but not aggressive. Testing me. "Cassian's told me about you."
I glance at Cassian. "When? We've been running since I woke up."
"Shadow messages. We have ways of communicating that the Sanctum can't intercept." Kieran moves to the fireplace and lights it with a gesture. "Sit. Both of you. We need to talk."
Cassian and I sit at the table. Kieran pulls out a kettle and starts making tea like we're having a normal conversation instead of hiding from bounty hunters.
"You're different from the others," Kieran says, not looking at me. "You've been bound to Cassian for six days and you're still alive."
"Is that unusual?" I ask.
"Unusual?" Kieran actually laughs. "It's impossible. The longest anyone lasted was Sarah—three months. Most died within weeks." He sets cups in front of us. "You're not just alive. You're developing powers. I can see shadow magic radiating off you."
I look at my hands. They seem normal, but I can feel the power humming under my skin.
"The curse bond mixed with her Shadowborn blood," Cassian explains. "It's creating something new."
Kieran's head snaps up. "Shadowborn? You didn't mention that in your messages."
"I didn't know until recently."
"Cassian." Kieran's voice goes hard. "Do you understand what you've done? Shadowborn are supposed to be extinct. The Sanctum hunted them for centuries because they were too powerful to control. And now you've bonded with one?"
"I didn't choose this!"
"Neither did I," I interrupt. Both of them look at me. "I didn't ask to be murdered at my wedding. Didn't ask to come back bonded to a cursed immortal. Didn't ask to discover I have magic my mother hid from me my whole life." My voice rises. "So maybe everyone can stop acting like I'm some kind of disaster waiting to happen!"
Silence fills the cabin.
Then Kieran smiles. Actually smiles. "I like her."
"She grows on you," Cassian mutters.
"I'm sitting right here," I snap.
Kieran pours tea. "I was bound to Cassian sixty years ago. Sanctum ritual sacrifice, just like you. I was supposed to die to fuel some war campaign."
I stare at him. "But you're alive."
"Because Cassian found a partial solution. A ritual that cut the death connection but left me immortal and tied to the Shadowlands." He sits down across from us. "I could have left. Could have started a new life anywhere. But I stayed."
"Why?" I ask.
"Because he saved me when no one else would. Because fighting the Sanctum became personal." Kieran's expression hardens. "And because someone needs to protect the next person they try to sacrifice."
He looks at me when he says it.
"The Sanctum won't stop hunting you," Kieran continues. "You know that, right? They'll send everything they have. Soldiers. Priests. Shadow beasts. Assassins. Everything."
Cassian nods. "I know. That's why we need your help."
"You have it. Obviously." Kieran sips his tea. "But I need to know something first. From her."
He looks directly at me.
"What?" I ask.
"Are you going to run? Or are you going to fight?"
The question catches me off guard. "I—what?"
"The others ran. Hid. Let Cassian protect them while they waited to die." Kieran leans forward. "I'm asking what you're going to do. Because if you want to survive, you can't just follow Cassian around hoping he saves you. You need to save yourself."
His words sting because they're true. I've been letting Cassian lead. Letting him fight. Letting him make decisions while I just react.
"I want to fight," I say quietly. Then louder: "I want to fight back."
"Good." Kieran stands. "Then we start training tomorrow. Shadow magic. Combat. Survival skills. Everything you need to become dangerous instead of just hunted."
Hope flickers in my chest for the first time in days. "You'll teach me?"
"We all will." He gestures to his soldiers. "My people know how to fight the Sanctum. How to survive when the whole world wants you dead. If you're serious about this, we'll make you into someone they can't kill."
I look at Cassian. Through the bond, I feel his surprise. His cautious hope.
"I'm serious," I tell Kieran.
"Then welcome to the resistance, Elara." Kieran raises his tea cup. "Try not to die. It's bad for morale."
I almost laugh. Almost.
One of Kieran's soldiers—a woman with short red hair—bursts through the door. "We have a problem."
Kieran sets down his cup. "The hunters found us?"
"Worse." She's breathing hard. "A Sanctum strike team just arrived. Fifty soldiers. Led by Commander Theron Valdis himself."
My blood turns to ice. Theron. Here.
"He's demanding you turn over Elara by dawn," the woman continues. "Says if you don't, he'll burn the entire forest. Every resistance safe house. Every civilian settlement within ten miles."
Cassian stands so fast his chair falls over. "He's bluffing."
"Is he?" Kieran looks grim. "Theron's desperate. A failed sacrifice destroyed his reputation. If he doesn't kill Elara, the Sanctum will kill him for incompetence."
"So we fight," I say.
"Against fifty trained soldiers?" Kieran shakes his head. "We'd lose."
"Then we run again." Cassian grabs my hand. "Shadow travel. We can be miles away before—"
"He has blood hounds," the soldier interrupts. "Magical trackers using Elara's blood from the wedding. They'll follow wherever you go."
The room goes silent.
We can't fight. Can't run. Can't hide.
We're trapped.
"There's one option," Kieran says slowly. "But you're not going to like it."
"What?" Cassian and I ask together.
Kieran meets my eyes. "You turn yourself in."
"Absolutely not!" Cassian's fury blazes through the bond.
"Let me finish." Kieran holds up his hand. "You turn yourself in. Walk right into Theron's camp. Alone. Unarmed."
"That's suicide!" I protest.
"It's bait," Kieran corrects. "While Theron's focused on you, we attack from behind. Free you. Scatter his forces. Get you both out before he realizes it's a trap."
Cassian's shaking his head. "Too risky. If something goes wrong—"
"If we do nothing, Theron burns innocent people to flush us out." Kieran's voice is hard. "This way, we control the fight. Choose the ground. Stack the odds."
"And if the plan fails?" I ask quietly.
"Then Theron kills you. And Cassian dies with you." Kieran doesn't sugarcoat it. "But at least the resistance survives to keep fighting."
Through the bond, I feel Cassian's emotions warring. Rage. Fear. Desperation. And underneath it all—the knowledge that Kieran's right.
I squeeze his hand. "It's my choice."
"Elara, no—"
"My choice," I repeat firmly. I look at Kieran. "I'll do it. But on one condition."
"Name it."
"If something goes wrong. If the plan fails." I swallow hard. "You get Cassian out. Even if it means leaving me behind."
"No!" Cassian's grip tightens painfully. "I'm not abandoning you!"
"You have to survive. The curse, the knowledge you have, everything you've learned—it's too valuable to lose." I force myself to look at him. "Promise me."
His silver eyes are desperate. Broken. "I can't."
"Promise me, Cassian!"
"I—" He stops. Takes a shuddering breath. Through the bond, I feel the moment his heart breaks. "I promise."
Kieran nods slowly. "Then we move at dawn. Elara walks into Theron's camp. We attack five minutes later. Everyone clear?"
His soldiers nod. Cassian says nothing, still gripping my hand like I might disappear.
"Get some rest," Kieran orders. "You'll need it."
Everyone disperses. Cassian and I sit alone at the table, still holding hands.
"I won't let him kill you," Cassian whispers. "Whatever it takes. I won't lose you."
"You might not have a choice."
"Then I'll make one." His eyes meet mine, fierce and desperate and burning with something I'm afraid to name. "The bond isn't just connecting our lives anymore, Elara. It's connecting everything. Our hearts. Our souls. I can feel what you feel. And what I feel..."
He doesn't finish.
But through the bond, I feel it anyway.
And it terrifies me. Because I feel the same way.
We've known each other six days.
But it feels like forever.
Outside, the first hints of dawn touch the sky.
In a few hours, I'll walk into Theron's camp.
And either I'll survive—
Or we'll both die together.